Cupcakes

I love cupcakes.  Baking them, decorating them, but most of all eating them (if you don't like cupcakes, I'm not sure we can be friends anymore).  One of my dreams is to own one of those adorable cupcake shops.  You know the ones I'm talking about, right? Super cute decor, delicious cupcakes in all sorts of interesting flavor combinations and perfectly decorated cupcakes. If I couldn't own one, maybe I could vacation in one for a week?  Pretty please!  Just long enough that it would make me sick and never want another cupcake.   The cupcake has become incredibly popular in the past few years and cupcake shops have sprung up all over, there are cupcake tours, cupcake trucks and cupcake ATMS.  If you haven't noticed the rise of the cupcake, you've been living under a rock.

If you're a food network junkie like my husband and I, you have likely watched more episodes of Cupcake Wars than you care to admit.  Its probably no surprise that I usually end up baking a batch of cupcakes within 24 hours of watching this show.  This is why I keep asking my husband to not have Food Network be our default TV station because it just makes me want to eat, bake and eat some more.

Of course, owning a cupcake shop or any kind of bakery isn't going to happen anytime soon, at least not for me.  While I love baking, I am a baker that follows recipes, not creates them.  So, what I do is troll several baking websites.  One that I love is Brown Eyed Baker.  My friend Jaime told me about this blog and my life hasn't been the same.  I'm not kidding.  This website introduced me to chocolate chip cookie dough brownies.  If you haven't tried these, you MUST.  They are Ah-mazing!  http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2011/07/21/chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-brownies/   Of course, it is also because of the introduction to this website that I must keep running thirty miles a week in an attempt to burn off those wonderfully delicious desserts. 

Today I tried a recipe for Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting.  While the cupcakes are good.  I decided that they next time I make this.  I will scoop out the middle of the cupcake and pipe the peanut butter frosting inside.  Then I will top it with a layer of chocolate ganache.  I think this will be an improvement (how can more chocolate not be?). And I'm a huge fan of stuffed cupcakes. 

Anyway. Here is my finished product. Aren't they pretty? 

My husband liked the cupcakes, but sadly, only one of my 3 big kids did so this probably won't make it into a regular rotation.  So, I passed along half the cupcakes to another family (a family with kids who actually like peanut butter frosting). 

Another great thing about this recipe is that its only for 12 cupcakes instead of the 24-30 that many recipes do.  I like this because while I crave cupcakes, once I have one, I want to move on to another flavor.  Recipes that make smaller batches are my favorite for this reason.  Here's the recipe in case you're interested.  http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2010/06/10/dark-chocolate-cupcakes-with-peanut-butter-frosting/